Editing PolyGram (section)

=== GPG and PolyGram, 1962–1980 ===
In 1962, PPI and DGG formed the '''Grammophon-Philips Group''' ('''GPG''') as a joint-venture holding company, with Philips taking a 50% share in DGG and Siemens a 50% share in PPI. In 1971, the UK record labels of Philips, Fontana, Mercury, and Vertigo were amalgamated into a new company called '''Phonogram, Ltd.''' In 1972, Grammophon-Philips Group reorganized all  its operations and was renamed '''The PolyGram Group''' (in some countries, like Argentina, its name was Phonogram), of which Philips and Siemens each owned 50%.  In 1977, both organizations merged operationally, integrating the recording, manufacturing, distribution and marketing into a single organization.

The various record labels within PolyGram continued to operate separately. PolyGram gave its labels, as A&R organizations, great autonomy.

After the merger, PolyGram began to move into the US and UK markets, and did so by a process of both formation and acquisition: [[Polydor Records]] established its American operations, Polydor Incorporated in 1969, [[Mercury Records|Mercury]] Record Productions (US) was acquired in 1972 from sister company '''North American Philips Corp.''', and became Phonogram, Inc. [[MGM Records]] and [[Verve Records|Verve]] (US) were acquired in 1972. Subsequent PolyGram acquisitions included those of [[RSO Records|RSO]] (UK) in 1975, a 50% stake in [[Casablanca Records|Casablanca]] (US) in 1977 (with the remaining 50% in 1980), [[Pickwick Records|Pickwick]] in 1978, and [[Decca Records|Decca]] (UK) in 1980 (the latter acquisition basically brought PolyGram full circle, see the HDD section above). PolyGram acquired United Distribution Corporation (UDC) in 1973, and changed its name to Phonodisc, Inc., and signed international distribution deals with [[MCA Records|MCA]] and [[20th Century Fox Records|20th Century Records]] in 1976.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Philips had been at work on a new consumer [[magnetic tape]] format for music. The Philips [[Compact Cassette]] was introduced in 1963. It was small and could play longer than an LP. In 1965 the cassette accounted for 3% of revenues, growing in 1968 to 8% and in 1970 to 10.6%.

In the late 1960s, and through the 1970s, GPG/PolyGram diversified into film and television production and home video. RSO's successes included ''[[Saturday Night Fever]]'' and ''[[Grease (film)|Grease]]''. PolyGram's highly successful marketing during the [[disco]] craze included the Casablanca FilmWorks production ''[[Thank God It's Friday (film)|Thank God It's Friday]]'' (1978) and its associated soundtrack. During the boom in disco, PolyGram's US market share had grown from 5% to 20%. This can also be attributed to multi-million selling albums and 45s by the [[Bee Gees]], [[Donna Summer]], the [[Village People]], [[Andy Gibb]], [[Kool & the Gang]], and rock band [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]]. For a short while in the late 1970s, it was the world's largest record company.<ref>Bakker, p.26. "During the disco-boom, Polygram's US market share had jumped from five to twenty percent. For a few years, it was the world's largest record company."</ref>

In 1969, PolyGram established a direct mail-order business in the UK, [[Britannia Music Club]], which ran till 2007.<ref>Billboard - 25 Dec 1999 - 1 janv. 2000 - Page 90 "In the year ending in June, both companies are said to have had combined sales of $460 million and an operating profit of $50 million. Sales of $480 million are forecast for the year to June 2000. Britannia, launched in 1969 by Poly Gram, has ..."</ref>